Determined to meet the growing market demands for communication technologies, Alcatel Lucent Entreprise has chosen to rely on the omnichannel Customer Serviceexpertise of software publisher Akio to build a new Hybrid CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) offer. It will enable Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise customers to couple a Cloud-based application for managing digital channels (email, chat, social networks) to their PBX for seamless processing of all customer service requests.

With 830,000 customers worldwide, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise is one of the world’s leading providers of business communications. Its mission is to interconnect people, applications, machines and objects to improve productivity and work processes. Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise offers a number of complementary product families: enterprise telephony (UCaaS, for Unified Communications as a Service), network platforms and infrastructure, and contact center solutions. For example, more than 500,000 customer service agents in Europe use the Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX® Enterprise Communication Server-based solution, which enables efficient handling of customer enquiries over the phone using a patented graphical representation of call distribution.

However, new channels such as email, chat and social networks are becoming a must in customer relationship centres. They present specific constraints, such as the semantic analysis of requests to route them to the right advisor, or the need for collaborative management between several agent and expert profiles. In addition, the infrastructure required to process digital requests is completely different from the telecom infrastructure used for the Voice channel. Hence the importance of both technical and business know-how in terms of “seamless” integration of the two worlds.

This is why Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise has chosen to work with Akio, the French software publisher specialised in Customer Relationship Management, which created the Akio.Cx software platform in 2017. Akio distinguishes itself from its competitors by a 100% omnichannel vision. Akio.Cx distributes incoming customer requests to the right customer advisor, whatever the channel (phone, email, chat, social networks, mail, SMS…). The advisor has access to the complete history of exchanges and has response assistance tools, such as an IA engine for recommending a standard response, while the supervisor pilots the platform with the help of statistics and consolidated cross-channel indicators.

The goal is a hybrid CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) offering to enable customer services to engage in a personalised relationship with all their contacts, thanks to the combination of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s world-renowned expertise in telephony and Akio’s expertise in digital Cloud technologies.

The technology partnership also includes the integration of the Alcatel-Lucent RainbowTM Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution, also available in the cloud. This will enable agents to collaborate with each other and with experts using Rainbow’s services, including group instant messaging, file and screen sharing, audio and video conferencing and intelligent wizards. These features increase response rates from the first interaction and lower operating costs.

“The Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise mission is to support its customers in their digital transformation” says Nicolas Brunel, EVP of the Communications Division at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. “We are proud to announce this new partnership with Akio. Our unique architecture that combines the robustness of communications systems with the possibilities of multi-channel customer service in the cloud, will enable our customers to increase loyalty and satisfaction, while preserving their investments. Integration with Rainbow’s UCaaS services opens up opportunities beyond the contact center, potentially allowing every employee in the company, wherever they are, to participate in the customer relationship.”

“With this partnership, our vision of an offering natively integrating all channels is now being fulfilled” confirms Patrick Giudicelli, President of Akio. “After the success recorded in France with customers who testify every day to their satisfaction in our products, we are reaching a new level in our development thanks to Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. We are proud to join the community of this major communication technologies player and contribute to enhancing the value of its action with customers.”

The integration work began under the lead of Jean-Luc Guével, Contact Centres Product Line Manager at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Samuel Rumeur, Product Director at Akio. Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise will market this offer from the second half of 2020 in France and Germany, and subsequently in other countries.

In parallel, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and Akio are collaborating on an ambitious Europe-wide programme that combines PDAs and AI powered conversation analysis.

About Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

We are Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. Our mission is to make everything connect to create the customized technology experience customers need. We deliver on-premises, Cloud and hybrid networking and communications solutions that work for your people, processes and customers.

A heritage of innovation and dedication to customer success has made Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise an essential provider of enterprise networking, communications and services to over 830,000 customers worldwide. The company has a global reach and local focus with more than 2200 employees and 2900+ partners who serve over 50 countries.

About Akio

A member of Croissance Plus, Akio is one of the leading software publishers in Europe with more than 10,000 users worldwide. Its Akio.Cx platform is designed for call centres and customer services. It is the only native multi-channel software on the market, an asset recognised by Gartner as essential to improve customer satisfaction and knowledge. Distributed by the largest operators and a member of the BPI Excellence innovation network, the company has built its success on its four values: humility, benevolence, high standards and openness. These values make its CRM software a benchmark in terms of customer interaction and experience.

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About Akio

Akio is a company that provides customer experience software platforms. It proposes cross-channel solutions that help you with customer engagement management, voice of the customer analysis and brand reputation monitoring